The Sky Where I Live

I love clouds. When I was a kid, I used to love lying on the ground and looking up at the clouds and watch them blow by and try to work out what they looked like. Some things in my life haven’t changed much. However, these days I can lie on the beach and do the same thing.

Although a cloud can be the bearer of rain, clouds do make the sky look more interesting. We all love clear cloudless skies. It usually means that we will have a sunny and warm day. Relatively speaking. We can have snow on the ground, but it won’t feel so cold if the sun is shining. I entered a photo in a contest at The Photographic Society of a wreck in The Red Sea. What stopped me from getting the top mark was that the judge thought it would have looked better if there were clouds in the sky! Ha! Fat chance!

Clouds can make a difference to a photo or a painting. Just think what Titian’s paintings would look like without his dramatic cloud formations.

Since I have lived in Eastbourne these last couple of years, I have learned that a cloudy sky doesn’t always bring rain. It can be overcast all week and not a drop of rain will fall. It has been like that a few times this summer. You think it is going to rain so you don’t water the plants, but nothing happens. It can be very strange. We have been having some unusually warm weather here. Eastbourne seems to have its own micro climate. It can be sunny here on the coast and cloudy and damp a few miles inland. It can be boiling hot one moment, and if a cloud does happen to appear and covers the sun it is freezing cold the next. Some days I really don’t know what I should be wearing.

This past week, we have had some amazing clouds and skies.

From the train - on the way to work

I took this from the train on the way to work on Tuesday. My car was being serviced. It was dark when I left the house and the sun was coming up over the sea.

On the way home

After collecting my car, I drove home along the seafront as there were some amazing cloud formations and colours. It looked like a huge storm would break, but it never did. There was a ‘tornado’ in Bexhill that afternoon. It happened just before I got on the train to collect my car.

From my bedroom window

This was the view from my bedroom window on Wednesday morning. I wish I could say that I always know what the day is going to be like by looking out of my window, but the weather can change. This morning it was dull and grey and turned into a wonderfully warm and sunny day. Wednesday was lovely. Forget that old saying: ‘Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning, red sky at night, sailor’s delight.’ It never rained where I was. I did see three different layers of clouds all moving at various speed with pockets of blue skies and sunshine throughout the day. It was breezy and mild.

On the way to work

This was the sky on the way to work on Thursday morning.

The Eastbourne Pier, with fog

Friday was dull and overcast. Totally grey and quite depressing, but it didn’t rain. This was the sky on the way home from work. It was foggy and the sea was eerily calm.

This photo would not be nearly as interesting with only blue skies.

The Pier always looks good, regardless of what the sky looks like. Even when the sky is grey and stormy looking.

It doesn’t stop the surfers from going out though!

I feel really blessed to have a lovely drive to and from work at the moment. I get to watch the sun come up and go down, most of the time. I am sure that will all change soon once the clocks go back this weekend.

Arlene Toth 2008-20117 Arlene’s New Beginning all rights reserved. This blog may be linked to other blogs or websites. No parts of this blog may be reproduced, copied, changed or lifted without the express written permission of the author.